The brews in the news are the speciality bottled beers being poured into elegant glasses in temples of gastronomy.

Forget Pinot Grigio. Forget wine and food pairing. The new foodie fashion is beer and food matching. we're not, of course, talking about pints of bog-standard bitter in sticky-carpeted pubs or burp-making lager in flock-wallpapered curry houses. We're not even talking about microbrewery real ales and gastropubs. No, the brews in the news are the speciality bottled beers being pored, carefully chilled, into elegant glasses in temples of gastronomy: beer served as an aperitif, followed by different beers with different dishes through the meal.

So which beers go best with which foods? Here is a starter guide

The citrus notes in wheat (or white) beers, especially Belgian and Dutch, men they go well with many starters and fish dishes. Belgian fruit beers, particularly cherry (kriek), go with the slightly caramelised flavours of pan-fried foie gras and soy and ginger-dressed salmon and tuna, as well as rabbit and duck cooked with fruit. Cherry and raspberry beers also come into their own at the other end of the meal, with chocolate and fruit puddings. Full-bodied beers, including bottle-conditioned ales, bocks and Belgian abbey and Trappist styles, suit meatier dishes, including red meat, game and sausages. Beers that are both full-bodied and high-strength (6% abv and upwards) go well with cheese, particularly British and hard French cheeses.

Speciality beers containing flavourings such as honey and chocolate can be matched to puddings, as can fruit beers. Some people swear by stout with chocolate, not to mention stout with oysters to kick-start the event.

Beers to Try With Food

Kasteel Cru

What A pale lager from Alsace, brewed with champagne yeasts, which give it a fine, creamy head.

Taste Appetisingly fresh, but soft, with a light, citrus, fruity flavour; 5.2% abv.

Drink When/With As an aperitif with cheese straws.

Cusquena

What A market-leading premium lager in Peru, where it has been made since 1908. it is brewed in the foothills of Machu Picchu, using water from high in the Andes.
Taste Crisps, pure and flavoursome, with notes of hops, barley and a hint of honey: 5% abv.
Drink When/With As an aperitif with nibbles such a chorizo, pizza or Thai dishes.

Gulpener Korenwolf

What A Dutch wheat beer flavoured with elderflower, coriander and orange peel, a cross between the citrusy Belgian and richer German wheat-beer styles.
Taste Fresh, sweet flavours with fruity-floral grass, spice and citrus hints; 6.5% abv.
Drink When/With As an aperitif, with salads and fish dishes, especially moules marinières.

Liefmans Kriekbier

What Belgium's best cherry beer, the cherries are fermented in a sweetish brown ale.
TasteIntense, refreshing, sweet and sour cherry flavours against a mellow, hoppy background; 6% abv.
Drink When/With Serve in champagne flutes with seared foie gras, salmon or peppered tuna, or with fruit puddings or chocolate.

Colomba

What An organic wheat beer from Corsica, flavoured with herbs and flowers from the famous Corsican maquis (scrub)
Tastefresh, with citrus, coriander and gingery notes, and a billowy, creamy texture; 5% abv.
Drink When/With As an aperitif or with fish or chicken.

Artois Bock

WhatA Belgian beer from an old recipe found in the archives at the Artois brewery, in Leuven. Made, unusually, from 100% high-roast malted barley.
TasteAll the sweetness of the malt, but with a complementary dry, slightly spicy element; 6.2% abv.
Drink When/With Smoked sausages, red meat, game.

Leffe Blonde

What This is a traditional Belgian abbey beer, so a strong, golden ale. Said to be the beer equivalent of red Bordeaux, Chianti classico or Californian chardonnay.
Taste Medium-full and smooth, with dry, spicy fruit and sweet malt: 6.6% abv.
Drink When/With Smoked and cured meat, sausages, roast pork and hard cheeses.

Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Beer

What Multi-award-winning, innovative Scottish bee, aged in American bourbon barrels.
Taste Fresh, round and oaky, with a touch of toast, toffee and vanilla; 6.6% abv.
Drink When/With Roast venison, beef and venison casseroles.

Pietra

WhatOrganic amber (ambrée) beer made in Corsica using local chestnuts.
Taste Rounded, nutty, malty, hoppy, with a clean, dry finish; 6% abv.
Drink When/With Roast duck, grouse, pigeon and meaty casseroles.

Brakspear Triple

What A strong Oxfordshire ale triple-fermented, triple-hopped and bottle-conditioned, so it will change and develop in the bottle.
Taste Full-bodied, malty and marmite flavours; 7.2% abv.
Drink When/With Cheese, including cheddar, stilton and manchego; gammon and venison. or sip as digestif.